Free time anyone?? Show us what you’re working with Cape Town!

Today starts my first full weekend in Cape Town and I am trying to take in as much as I can.  There is so much to do here…it is simply incredible but I find that my free time is very limited so I am planning away with the other fabulous volunteers to see as much as we can this weekend!  Are you ready to hear all about it??  Here is the game plan of what was on the agenda:

Friday night we went to (Green Point) Cape Town Stadium to take in the South African Premiere Soccer (Football) League double header.  We managed to score front row seats for approximately $10 and saw two games.  This is the stadium where World Cup games were played this summer and was built specifically for the world cup.  It was incredible!  We took the train in to the city and walked (a long way) to the stadium.  Once we arrived we noticed that the stadium was not nearly as full as we anticipated but people started trickling in during the first game and we soon were surrounded by some very passionate soccer fans.  If you watched the World Cup or any games involving soccer fans you will know that they are very enthusiastic about their teams!!  We were surrounded by Kaiser Chiefs fans and decided that it was probably the safest bet to cheer them on so we would make friends…not enemies in the section we were sitting.  It was an incredible time!  The fans around us embraced us and were so kind…we were dancing, singing and laughing with all of the other fans.  Soccer is a very big deal here and we even saw players on this team that were on the South African team and played in the World Cup.  As you will tell from my pictures…it was pretty incredible and I made lots of new local friends at the game!

Saturday we got up early and spent the entire day going around on the Red City Bus Tour that takes you around to local landmarks and helps you learn the city.  We sat on the top of the double decker bus and were able to get on and off where ever we liked.  It was fabulous and definitely makes me feel like I am getting a better grasp of where things are located here.  I was wearing a hat but managed to still get sunburned on the back of my neck…it’s peeling really bad right now and I am shocked by how wicked the sun is here.  Worse than Caribbean travel…bring on the sunscreen!  I have also acquired a very sassy watch tan from the bus tour…I’m sure you are all jealous of my horrible tan lines!

Sunday we went to the Winelands!  The drive was incredibly beautiful and we stopped at several wineries to try South African wines, cheeses, chocolates and liquors.  The liquors were difficult for all of us to drink but it was fun and we really enjoyed the chocolate.  We even passed a prison that Nelson Mandela was imprisoned in as they liked to move him around during the Apartheid since they were so afraid of him escaping.  Something I wasn’t aware of until Sunday!  We also passed a golf course that Tiger Woods played at right before his scandal back home.  The landscape here is something you can never get sick of…it was incredible and something you would expect if you went to Napa Valley.  We also had an outdoor lunch facing out the vineyards and mountain range…it felt like the backdrop in a movie!!!  Left me speechless and very peaceful!  Then….wait for it…I went and petted a CHEETAH!!!  Joseph is an 8 year old cheetah that was rescued and was such a sweetheart!  He is considered an elderly cheetah since they normally only survive in the wild 6-8 years.  The sanctuary was so much fun and I even got to see baby cheetahs!  LOVED IT!!!!

Lots of pictures to come…hope you enjoy them as much as I did taking them.  All of the other volunteers think I am obsessed with taking pictures…I’ve already blown through an 8GB memory card and am already a good way through my next one.  I should have brought more.  There are so many photo opportunities I just can’t miss out on!!!